The Shanghai Himalayas Center was designed by Arata Isozaki, a renowned Japanese architect and 2019 Pritzker Prize laureate.
Located on the 7th floor inner courtyard of the Jumeirah Hotel, Wujichang is a square space enclosed by a glass curtain wall, featuring a circular courtyard at its center. Standing here and gazing up at the sky offers a stunning visual experience.
▲ Project location within the building
▲ General plan of the courtyard landscape
The courtyard is surrounded by the hotel’s fitness club floor, which includes a swimming pool, spa, gym, and the “Wuji” Tai Chi Club. Guest rooms are located on the floors above. Originally, the courtyard featured uneven paving heights and a steel-structured wooden pavilion, designed as an outdoor leisure area primarily for walking and viewing.
Today, this courtyard serves as an outdoor venue for the Tai Chi club. The pavilion has been converted into a functional “house” by enclosing it with glass doors and windows, allowing for year-round comfort with air conditioning while maintaining views of the courtyard.
The pavilion’s steel roof truss has been slightly modified, and the structure is still built with solid wood. The roof is insulated with thatch, creating a striking contrast between the soft thatch and the hard aluminum grille curtain wall surrounding the courtyard, blending natural and artificial elements.
To facilitate Tai Chi practice, most of the originally staggered courtyard flooring has been covered with durable wood-plastic composite flooring.
The metaphor of a frog at the bottom of a well is often used to describe a person with limited perspective. This 15-story circular courtyard resembles a large well, where the view upward is somewhat restricted. However, standing here and looking up at the sky often inspires a sense of awakening and expanded thought.
In Chinese, the word “world” derives from Buddhist scriptures, where “world” refers to time and “realm” refers to space. Buddhism teaches that time and space are infinite, a view that aligns with modern scientific understanding. The term “world” thus extends beyond our Earth to the vast universe, where Earth is but a tiny speck.
Facing this boundless “world,” our perspective remains limited, much like the frog watching from its well.
▲ Pavilion floor plan
▲ Overall landscape plan
▲ Cross-section of the building
Project Details:
Design Company: Shanghai Shanxiang Architectural Design Co., Ltd
Lead Designer: Wang Shanxiang
Design Team: Wang Shanhui
Venue Area: 750 square meters
Tea Room Area: 24 square meters
Client: Shanghai Himalaya Center (BIM Tutorial), Jumeirah Hotels
Address: 7th Floor, No. 1108 Meihua Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
Design Year: 2017
Completion Year: 2018
Photography by Hu Wenjie (BIM Engineer)
Construction Contractor: Shanghai Luanyi Industrial Co., Ltd
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up